Coming out of the headquarters, Grissa, who had been waiting outside, immediately drove the car over and stopped firmly in front of me. Captain Yushchenko opened the door, jumped out of the co-pilot's seat, and opened the back door for me. With the help of the gas lamps illuminated by the door, I looked at the empty street located in the middle of the ruins, and I asked Resdayev curiously: "Comrade Major, what about your troops?" ”

Rysdayev replied: "The troops are in the woods southeast of the city. Then he asked with some embarrassment: "Comrade commander, my car has already gone back to the campsite of the army, can I take your car with me?" ”

I shook my head and said, "Get in the car." Then he went straight into the car. He also got into the car and sat side by side with me in the back seat. Yushchenko, who was standing under the car, helped us close the door, and then sat down in the passenger seat and said softly: "Drive." As soon as Grissa stepped on the accelerator, the car drove down the street towards the outside of the city.

By this time it was already dark, there was no moon, and it was pitch black everywhere. Even though I couldn't see anything, I still looked out the window and thought about my own thoughts. To be honest, although today I was appointed chief of staff of the 20th Army, I could not be happy at all. The thought of the uncertain fate of Bunyachenko and the German attack on Cumbre del Sol for several days gave me a headache.

When I attended the military conference just now, I patronized and listened to President Lin teach various military theories to everyone, and I forgot about Buniachenko at all. And now, as soon as I am free, I immediately think about it again. I wondered what I would do if I really couldn't find Bunyachenko. Although the sacrifice of a division commander in a brutal battle is a common thing, just like my predecessor, General Panfilov. But even if he is sacrificed, at least he can see the corpse, but this Bunyachenko can't see anyone alive or dead, and I really don't know how Lu Dao will explain to Zhukov, is he telling the truth or hiding the truth?

"Comrade division commander, comrade division commander." I vaguely heard Yushchenko calling me, and hurriedly responded, only to realize that I had just thought about it and forgot that I was still in the car.

In order to hide my gaffe, I coughed, pointed to Rysdayev beside me and said to Yushchenko: "Comrade Captain, this is Major Rysdayev of the garrison command, who once went with me to carry out arduous reconnaissance missions behind enemy lines, and this time he brought us reserves. ”

Then he pointed to Yushchenko and introduced Rysdayev: "This is Captain Yushchenko, who was formerly subordinate to the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs and is now the commander of the guard company of our division. ”

After listening to my introduction, the two reached out at the same time and shook hands and began to greet each other.

Looking at Rysdayev, who was laughing and talking to Yushchenko, I couldn't help but think of another key question. Because I was promoted too quickly, in just two months, I was promoted from corporal to major general. But all this is just the surface scenery, there is no network base, being a division commander is barely enough, if I want to take up a higher position, I can't find anyone available. The Resdayev in front of me and Lukin and Sapochuk, who are still recuperating from their wounds in the hospital, have all gone to enemy lines with me to carry out reconnaissance missions, and they are good comrades-in-arms who have gone from death to life together, and can be regarded as my authentic descendants. At present, there are also those close to me, including Lieutenant Ramis of the Guard Battalion, and Major Bukov, both of whom can also develop into my future team. I glanced at Yushchenko, who was sitting in the front row, and sighed to myself, although he has been very trusted by me recently, and is responsible for my safety every day, but after all, he is an officer from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and can only be trusted to a limited extent.

The forest where the reserves were stationed soon arrived, and Yushchenko accompanied Resdayev to get out of the car to gather the troops, and only me and Grisa were left in the car.

Grissa looked out the window, then turned around and whispered to me: "Comrade division commander, just now when I accompanied you to the headquarters of the 16th Army, I heard a driver I know about something. ”

I knew that the drivers of the road had nothing to say when they got together, and it was normal to hear some gossip from them, so I asked curiously: "What's the matter?" ”

"I heard him say that the command of the Front had sent a reserve to our division, with infantry, artillery and tank corps, but all of them were detained by Commander Rokossovsky and handed over to other units. At the same time, he ordered the mixed cadet regiment led by General Leviakin to withdraw from the settlements at 4 p.m. and retreat eastward, leaving only a small garrison of the 133rd Infantry Division in the three settlements. ”

Hearing this, the corners of my mouth twitched, and I almost wanted to scold Rokossovsky, but I thought that I couldn't lose my temper in front of my subordinates, so I left the 16th Army, and scolded the former commander regardless of the occasion. So he controlled his emotions in time and pretended to be relaxed: "Commander Rokossovsky also has difficulties, his troops are insufficient, and he is somewhat powerless in the face of the enemy's fierce offensive, and it is normal to transfer several troops to defend key areas." ”

By the time Yushchenko and Rysdayev got into the car, my mood had calmed down, the population was not strong enough, and it would be enough to draw troops from the city when I got back later.

A convoy of more than forty covered trucks followed closely behind my jeep and headed for Cumbre del Sol.

A kilometer or two from the city, we were spotted by a sentry on duty in a defensive position outside the city, who immediately raised the alarm, and the troops quickly entered combat mode. And we still drove forward stupidly without knowing anything, and if it weren't for Chistyakov, who happened to be patrolling there, found out that the situation was wrong and sent someone out to contact, maybe we would have fought with our own people.

The convoy drove along the road into the city, and Chistyakov waited at the entrance with his men. Without waiting for my orders, Grissa parked the car a dozen meters away from them, and I opened the door and walked over to Chistyakov and them, followed by Yushchenko and Rysdaev.

After introducing Rysdaev to Chistyakov, I directly ordered to send ten of the trucks to the settlements outside the city. Thirty other trucks, guided by a staff officer of the divisional headquarters, drove to the defensive positions north of the city, with Rysdayev with them.

When the car was far away, I beckoned Chistyakov to get into the car and return to the division headquarters together.

After the car started, Chistyakov said in a heavy tone: "Comrade division commander, our scouts who went to the forward reconnaissance are back. ”

"How's it going? Did you find Commander Buniachenko? Although I knew that the probability of finding it was zero, I still asked by luck.

He shook his head and said slowly: "Our scouts found Colonel Buniachenko's tank on the battlefield, the tank turned on its side in a crater, and the remains of two fighters were found in the car, and there were also two bodies in the parking space, but the colonel was not found. To be on the safe side, the scouts searched all the wreckage of our tanks in the vicinity, but still did not find the colonel. Hence we come to the conclusion that Colonel Buniachenko is missing. ”

I knew in my heart that although Chistyakov said that Bunyachenko was missing, everyone knew in their hearts that this was just a synonym for capture, but no one wanted to say it. However, since the other commanders in the division have already determined this matter, I can't pick on this layer of window paper, so I can only push the boat down the river when Bunyachenko is missing. If the front command had asked for it, I would have reported it as missing on the battlefield.